Large International Coaster Manufacturer Continues Its Partnership with KBA North America

Tuesday, May 17, 2005

May 16, 2005 -- KBA North America, a leading sheetfed offset press manufacturer based in Williston, Vt., is announcing that Ad-Mat International Coasters USA, Inc., a leading coaster manufacturer located in Johnson City, Tenn., has installed a large format Rapida 130 51-inch four-color sheetfed press. The new press was delivered in the spring of 2005 to the firm’s 55,000 sq ft facility and joins two other KBA 51-inch five-color presses.
“We chose the KBA Rapida 130 press because it has the ability to print on thicker stock and it prints with consistent quality,” says Kitty Elbers, the firm’s CEO. “That’s very important to our company. We’re also very impressed with all of the automation on the press such as the fully automatic plate changing system, the quick turnaround, fast makeready, and the service provided by KBA.”
In addition to the new press, Ad-Mat also installed a new computer-to-plate system on its front-end and a new Wupa automatic die-cutter for post-press.
KBA technology, service, and training keep bringing them back
“We have found that KBA manufactures presses with the newest and most reliable technology,” says Michael Elbers, Ad-Mat’s operations manager. “It is a fantastic press and incredible to watch it print. It is especially important that the press handles the thicker stock that we use for our coasters. But the entire KBA package—the press, the company, the training, and the service—are why we keep returning to purchase a KBA press; this is now our fourth KBA press.”
What began in the late 19th century as a means to prevent leaves from falling into beer tankards while drinking outside has become today’s modern version of beverage coasters. Over the past several decades demand has grown so quickly that these beverage coasters are being printed on high-quality multi-color large offset printing presses with a wide variety of marketing and advertising slogans.
Run lengths as short as 5,000 pieces to unlimited quantities
Catering to the beverage, hotel and restaurant markets in North, Central, and South America, Ad-Mat focuses on customer service to provide unique shapes and novelty marketing concepts to its customers. Ad-Mat prints on their new KBA Rapida 130 51-inch sheetfed press on a variety of stocks from 1 – 2.2 mm (40-90pt) board with run lengths as short as 5,000 pieces to unlimited quantities.
“We’ve been showing advertisers and marketers that a coaster is a perfect economical venue to differentiate their product and broaden their market base,” says Eli Elbers, Ad-Mat’s marketing manager. “A coaster is a utility product that provides an inexpensive means of advertising for high-quality intricate designs. We’re providing coasters to many different firms and individuals beyond the beverage industry. For example, we’ve printed coasters for Jeep sport utility vehicles, Expedia, the National Basketball League, and Direct TV, as well as individuals who are celebrating anniversaries or graduations. A coaster can be used under a beverage or it can be inserted into a magazine ad as a coupon or rebate or sent in the mail as an invitation or announcement. The uses are limitless.”
Special unique thick coaster substrate from Germany provides additional USP to Ad-Mat
Through an exclusive international partnership, Ad-Mat’s coasters are produced on European pulp board made by Katz International Coasters in Germany, the worldwide leading manufacturer of boards and coasters. This high quality material is super absorbent, warp resistant, and colorfast.
Ad-Mat Coasters was founded in 1984 by Kitty Elbers and John Hunt in Toronto. In 1991, Ad-Mat Coasters moved its business to Johnson City, Tennessee, where Kitty Elbers and her brother Karel Elbers renamed the company Ad-Mat International Coasters USA Inc. In 1997, Ad-Mat Coasters formed an international partnership with Katz International Coasters in Germany and Hanna Match Group, a leading supplier of advertising drink coasters in Australia and New Zealand, creating an alliance between the world’s leading manufacturers of advertising beverage coasters. This partnership – formalizing a relationship that existed in various forms between the companies for many years – combines the knowledge, experience and technical capabilities of the partner companies for the benefit of all customers. All partner companies use only Katz beermat board – the world’s premium quality beermat board made exclusively for drink coaster production. And, all have exclusive marketing rights for this board in their respective regions. All partner companies use the latest computerized pre-press facilities and offset printing technology and have the capability to die-cut to any shape and size. This international partnership means customers, regardless of their global location, can buy from all of the partner companies and be assured of receiving an identical world class product. In fact, color separations and film work can be created in one location and an identical product produced simultaneously at all three manufacturing sites.
Today, Kitty, the firm’s CEO, and her brother Karel, the firm’s president, are joined in the family-run business by Karel’s two sons: Michael, the operation’s manager, and Eli, the firm’s marketing manager. Karel’s wife Cinthia recently retired from the business. The 45-employee business produces over 650 million coasters per year.
KBA North America is a leading supplier of sheetfed offset and digital presses located in Williston, VT. It is a member of the KBA Group, a leader in the manufacture of sheetfed offset, digital offset, web offset, rotogravure directory, security, and newspaper presses.